All-One-Guide to Rooting, Deodexing, and Installing a Custom ROM/Theme (And How to Unbrick Droid X)

Hi Guys,
First time posting here. Just want to start off by saying that the reason why I made this guide is so that people could just click on one thread rather than search and sift through hundreds of them to find out how to root, deodex, and install a custom ROM/Theme as well as finding a solution to unbricking their phones. So, as people with solutions always like to mention, I am in no way responsible for you damaging your phone by following this guide!

Included is (hopefully) a prettsy straightforward set of directions. There is also a guide to unbricking your phone in case you happen to miss some of the steps. Also, credits to the individuals that created these programs for our use on the android forums. I DID NOT MAKE THESE PROGRAMS I am merely the tour guide getting you through the maze that is the customization of your droid x! I hope these directions are helpful! Also, at the bottom there is one issue that I ran into, which is double text messages (two of the same texts NOT the double notification problem that most people seem to be having), which I fixed by using Titanium Backup to uninstall the stock messaging app. Hope this is helpful guys and feel free to comment and add some stuff to the "Troubleshooting" section.
~E

Making Modifications to Your Droid X (From rooting, to deodexing, to installation of custom ROMs and themes

I bricked my phone, but tried to remain calm. Your instructions walked me through everything PERFECTLY and I am now up and running again. Still haven't tried doing the deodex again because I have to leave the house shortly but will later...not sure where I messed up because I've hacked many an iPhone but obviously I didn't listen to something

Finally decided to take the plunge and get my black notification bar lol. Worked great, got nervous because it was stuck on the eye for a while but left my desk, got something to drink figuring a new theme had to take some time etc. Thanks for the directions and worked like a charm!

ehh i accidentally ran my battery down before i could unbrick so im SOL lol. MY best friend works for verizon so my 2.2 OTAed DX should be in the mail in a couple days. Then it's off to rooting the official 2.2 :O

Want to do the 928 with deodexing but was wondering one thing prior to doing it.
If i do not like the theme, can i simply go back to where i was with my current theme? Can you give me step by step...........do not want to start all over

Want to do the 928 with deodexing but was wondering one thing prior to doing it.
If i do not like the theme, can i simply go back to where i was with my current theme? Can you give me step by step...........do not want to start all over

Click to expand...

+1 on this. What are our options if we want/need to go back to a stock-like setup? Should we just flash the SBF, or is it a ridiculous question because no one in their right mind would EVER want to go back?

Want to do the 928 with deodexing but was wondering one thing prior to doing it.
If i do not like the theme, can i simply go back to where i was with my current theme? Can you give me step by step...........do not want to start all over

Click to expand...

go into bootstrap, click reboot recovery.
once in, use the volume keys to scroll, the back button to go back, and the camera key to select

scroll to backup and restore, select it, now highlight backup and select it. that will create a backup to revert to if you want rid of black glass and want your current layout. you can do this at anytime and have many backups to revert to.

Want to do the 928 with deodexing but was wondering one thing prior to doing it.
If i do not like the theme, can i simply go back to where i was with my current theme? Can you give me step by step...........do not want to start all over

Click to expand...

Go into ROM manager and click Backup current ROM. Give it a good name to distinguish it like 2.2 stock or something. That way if you don't like the theme you can just restore this Backup from ROM manager by going to manage and restore backups.

+1 on this. What are our options if we want/need to go back to a stock-like setup? Should we just flash the SBF, or is it a ridiculous question because no one in their right mind would EVER want to go back?

Thanks for the guide... exactly what I was looking for!

Click to expand...

Ideally, you should have backed up your system before installing 928's custom ROM with auto-deodex but I didn't include that in my instructions so I'm very sorry about that. I'm not 100 percent certain but there may be stock themes out on the forums but I haven't bothered looking...but if you really want to go back to stock I suppose you could just flash the stock .sbf through bootloader and RSD like you said!

Ideally, you should have backed up your system before installing 928's custom ROM with auto-deodex but I didn't include that in my instructions so I'm very sorry about that. I'm not 100 percent certain but there may be stock themes out on the forums but I haven't bothered looking...but if you really want to go back to stock I suppose you could just flash the stock .sbf through bootloader and RSD like you said!

Click to expand...

actually, scratch that, I did say to backup first hah... so you should already have a backup ready on your sd card. You can just flash back to your stock setup after running bootstrap recovery by running Bootstrap, select "Backup and Restore" and then "Restore" and pick the file the backup created (it automatically saves it by the date it was created).

Want to do the 928 with deodexing but was wondering one thing prior to doing it.
If i do not like the theme, can i simply go back to where i was with my current theme? Can you give me step by step...........do not want to start all over

Click to expand...

Are you on the original stock DX theme? If you're using a custom theme just save the unzipped theme file to your sdcard (make a new folder let's just say you lable it "themes") open up bootstrap recovery, boot into recovery mode, and follow steps 2-11 in the guide.

First and foremost, to the OP, I say good first-time post. I'm a new guy myself, so I assumed something of use might be worth contributing to make people take me with at least a grain of credibility at first. It's a good idea in theory. However, my commendations end there.

When I set out to pen a thread of use to newbies and veterans alike, I was trying to go with something devoid of the smarmy, know-it-all attitude that I have come to expect from many tutorials I've read. As fun as it might be sometimes, deprecating those who are new to the scene is only poisonous to us as a whole. The more people we have out there who WANT to mod can only be better for us, but accusing someone of possibly being a moron right from the get-go can do no good for you or anyone reading your post. I suspect the only thing it might do is make you feel self-righteous, but then again, I don't know you...I only know what you've posted. Aside from making fun of the guy who didn't back up his data (where you said "Actually, scratch that, I did say to backup first hah"), so far I've only seen this longer, saltier, diatribe of something I wrote already. Yes...I did spot that. Between talking about the quest for the "ultimate android experience" and my Lego bricks analogy, all you've done is kang my reference guide and the guides I linked to (more on my calling it this in a moment) and call it your own. The reasons I linked to those threads I got the information? A. They said it better than I did first due to the fact that they are the ones who packaged the release, and credit should be given to those who have done the real work, which I see you have either conveniently or inconsiderately left out, and B. Because the support threads beneath the posters who did the actual work pretty much outline any problem anyone has ever encountered with the software, and because the developers themselves oftentimes respond personally to the concerns of the users...something much better than I can offer, being a new guy, and C. Because the user will learn for themselves by reading these threads before they install. Maybe I'm wrong, but we should be teaching users to fish rather than just giving them one.

But aside from the fact that you spent more time talking about the unlikely scenario of someone blaming you for the fact that they may have bricked their phone (which you know full well there is no danger of seeing as how there is a 2.2 SBF, which you should be using to reassure users that they can't do anything to brick their phone and be willing to try it, rather than just trying to scare them) rather than trying to convince someone to root, your general attitude is the most degrading part of the post. You said it yourself, you're a new poster...where do you get off insulting users looking for help? I'm not sure if you've read the FAQ here, but our forum doesn't require users to search before posting...part of the reason I'm a member here...but that doesn't mean that people are morons, nor does it give you the right to treat people that way.

I don't speak for the community as a whole, and I welcome them to correct me if I'm wrong, but in closing, I feel that while your post is helpful, there's plenty of other people willing to help that might seem a little more willing to do it. Like I said before, I don't know you personally...I just know you by the post I commented on, and the user you heckled below. But if you're the type who is willing to laugh at someone who makes the common mistake of forgetting to make a backup, maybe you're not the type who should be trying to help anyone.

Personally, and this is just one opinion people, I think this type of delivery works well for some people. Who cares if it doesn't link to a bunch of websites for more information or cite sources of information. The write up is down and dirty, straight to the point. Gives about everything needed without a bunch of detail that is over most of our heads. While I was searching and going from page to page...website to website, trying to compare ideas, and following the directions on each, I can't tell you how many times I wished someone would just put it all in one place and dumb it down, this thread does just that. It's written in a way that's entertaining to read with a bit of hazing. Some of us like to be given a bit of shit while we learn. We aren't all on the verge of crying and carving at our wrists if someone says the wrong thing and hurts our feelings. Some of us are still trying to overcome the pussification of our society.

Again, this obviously may not work for everyone, but it's definitely going to appeal to some. You make a choice to keep reading, if you get offended, stop and move on to another tutorial, cause there are others. IMO, this thread should also be added to the sticky.

I totally agree that it works well for some people. But the delivery depends on the context, and it's more like a new user is walking in like he owns the place and telling folks what's what. It's not about pussification...it's about common sense and working toward a common goal. We're just here to help one another...you can be simple without degrading others, it's been done plenty of times, it just requires a certain degree of tact.

But as I said before, it's all about context. If this were coming from an experienced programmer who is an actual contributer who feels like writing a tutorial like he's Dr. Cox from Scrubs, that's one thing. But this is some guy we don't even know who is insulting his core audience...an audience that is important to a modding community that is already too small as it is. Lots of people choose not to mod due to the exact air of this post and many others like it. Information is a powerful thing when used efficiently, but when used as something to poke fun at a less experienced user it's becoming excessive. It's my aim and the aim of others (I think) to bring this scene out of the basements, off of the workbenches, and into the mainstream...and the geek-like scorn that people are used to when trying to find support for anything electronic is something that will only hurt the scene as a whole. Here: http://androidforums.com/introductions/704-site-rules-guidelines.html and here: http://androidforums.com/site-updat...4-zero-tolerance-policy-all-members-read.html are two posts in particular that talk about our policy here. You're absolutely correct...it is "the internet", but it doesn't mean that people should be disrespected needlessly. Honey works far better than vinegar...

First and foremost, to the OP, I say good first-time post. I'm a new guy myself, so I assumed something of use might be worth contributing to make people take me with at least a grain of credibility at first. It's a good idea in theory. However, my commendations end there.

When I set out to pen a thread of use to newbies and veterans alike, I was trying to go with something devoid of the smarmy, know-it-all attitude that I have come to expect from many tutorials I've read. As fun as it might be sometimes, deprecating those who are new to the scene is only poisonous to us as a whole. The more people we have out there who WANT to mod can only be better for us, but accusing someone of possibly being a moron right from the get-go can do no good for you or anyone reading your post. I suspect the only thing it might do is make you feel self-righteous, but then again, I don't know you...I only know what you've posted. Aside from making fun of the guy who didn't back up his data (where you said "Actually, scratch that, I did say to backup first hah"), so far I've only seen this longer, saltier, diatribe of something I wrote already. Yes...I did spot that. Between talking about the quest for the "ultimate android experience" and my Lego bricks analogy, all you've done is kang my reference guide and the guides I linked to (more on my calling it this in a moment) and call it your own. The reasons I linked to those threads I got the information? A. They said it better than I did first due to the fact that they are the ones who packaged the release, and credit should be given to those who have done the real work, which I see you have either conveniently or inconsiderately left out, and B. Because the support threads beneath the posters who did the actual work pretty much outline any problem anyone has ever encountered with the software, and because the developers themselves oftentimes respond personally to the concerns of the users...something much better than I can offer, being a new guy, and C. Because the user will learn for themselves by reading these threads before they install. Maybe I'm wrong, but we should be teaching users to fish rather than just giving them one.

But aside from the fact that you spent more time talking about the unlikely scenario of someone blaming you for the fact that they may have bricked their phone (which you know full well there is no danger of seeing as how there is a 2.2 SBF, which you should be using to reassure users that they can't do anything to brick their phone and be willing to try it, rather than just trying to scare them) rather than trying to convince someone to root, your general attitude is the most degrading part of the post. You said it yourself, you're a new poster...where do you get off insulting users looking for help? I'm not sure if you've read the FAQ here, but our forum doesn't require users to search before posting...part of the reason I'm a member here...but that doesn't mean that people are morons, nor does it give you the right to treat people that way.

I don't speak for the community as a whole, and I welcome them to correct me if I'm wrong, but in closing, I feel that while your post is helpful, there's plenty of other people willing to help that might seem a little more willing to do it. Like I said before, I don't know you personally...I just know you by the post I commented on, and the user you heckled below. But if you're the type who is willing to laugh at someone who makes the common mistake of forgetting to make a backup, maybe you're not the type who should be trying to help anyone.

Mr. G.

Click to expand...

Not trying to offend anyone in all honesty just trying to add some humor to my post, but I won't make any excuses I will edit any of the parts that people may deem as me power tripping or thinking that I am god on this forum. It was not my intention to deprecate other users so I apologize if any feelings were hurt in the process.
~E